Expanding services could make post offices viable, says postmasters union report

(Left to right) Tony Wall, Postmaster, Sean Martin, President, The Irish Postmasters' Union, Sandra Tourney, General Secretary and Finola McBride, Postmaster at the launch of the Grant Thornton Report on the Future of Ireland’s Post Office Network on Wednesday. Photo: Leah Farrell/© RollingNews.ie

Post offices in Ireland could remain viable by having a role in adding and removing people from the electoral register and by becoming peace commissioners to slash red tape for frontline services, postmasters have said.

Launching a report to highlight the value they offer to communities, the Irish Postmasters Union said Government funding was essential to prevent post offices from closing both by plugging funding gaps and expanding the services they can provide to customers.

In particular, it pointed to Ireland’s dysfunctional electoral register which has “hundreds of thousands” more names than there should be, according to a recent report from the country’s Electoral Commission.

Sean Martin, a postmaster in Tramore, Co Waterford, said: “We want to deliver. We want to be part of the register of electors. We know everyone [in the community], right? We can put them onto a system to ensure that the proper person and proper name is on it, and we can take off the people by bringing in death certs.” 

Mr Martin, the president of the union, said that postmasters could also act as peace commissioners, and this could be done “at the stroke of a pen and alleviate the administrative work that a lot of the frontline services do”.

The Irish Postmasters Union general secretary Sandra Tormey said that post offices were essential for social cohesion but postmasters were being stretched by rising costs. She said that 108 postmasters were earning below minimum wage as there had been a sharp decline in transaction-based income in recent years.

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“Every citizen has a right to access government services,” she said. “They’ve a right to access cash. Government can ensure security of the network.” 

Mr Martin said that previous government support had helped to support postmasters, with only three to four post offices closing in the last few years from a network of 960. However, without a pledge to give €15m a year for the next five years, he said this situation could change considerably.

While he doesn’t object to more government services moving online, he said post offices could act as an alternative and prevent people having to travel long distances to access services in person. “Every citizen is entitled to the service whether you’re in Kanturk in Cork or Ballsbridge in Dublin,” he said.

Pointing to recent Red C polling which suggested strong support for the network, Ms Tormey added: “Even the young people like us. [Online clothing marketplace] Vinted has entered their lives, now they know where the post office is.

“It’s important the Government back us.” 

There was cross-party support for the postmasters at the meeting on Wednesday, including Sinn Féin’s Matt Carthy, Fianna Fáil’s Pat the Cope Gallagher, and Independent Ireland’s Michael Collins.

Mr Carthy asked about re-opening post offices that had shut given the damaging impact it had had on rural communities, saying that some “have never recovered”. “I think we use the analogy from Home Store and More,” Mr Martin said. “When it’s gone, it’s gone. And that’s the message we want to give here today."